Gov. Tina Kotek was urgent in late June, after Oregon lawmakers left the Capitol without finding new money for road upkeep.
“As governor, my job is to get the job done, and I have tools at my disposal to get that done,” Kotek told reporters at the time, foreshadowing a special session on transportation funding she’d call weeks later . “I just hope everyone’s going to show up for work when they need it.”
Now the job is done, and suddenly Kotek isn’t in much of a hurry.
A bill to raise billions for roadwork and public transit – and avert hundreds of state employee layoffs in the process – is sitting on the governor’s desk, unsigned. Kotek suggested Monday it might stay that way until Nov. 12, her deadline to sign or veto the bill.
“When I get the paperwork, I’m going to look at i